Snapshots into the process of protein glycosylation

"Glycan biosynthesis is one of the least understood processes in cell biology. Glycans are not directly encoded in the genome but biosynthesised by the combinatorial interplay of more than 250 glycosyltransferases. This interplay generates a vast complexity of glycans that is only beginning to be understood. To delineate how glycan biosynthesis is coordinated, methods are needed to inform on the functional interplay between glycosyltransferases.

Here, we will develop chemical tools as traceable reporters for the activities of individual glycosyltransferases in the living cell. These tools will allow insight into the enzymes that introduce glycans as one of the most abundant and complex protein modifications. Cutting-edge methods of molecular cell biology, mass spectrometry and imaging will collectively reveal the interplay of enzymes in the secretory pathway."